07.14.22
26b, Boulevard Royal
L-2449 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Phone: +44 (0)161 776 6810
Fax: +44 (0)161 775 5415
www.flintgrp.com
Sales: 2021 global revenues of Flint Group were $1.8 billion.
Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Flint Group also manufactures chips and resins for inks and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyper dispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and digital printing equipment. With its Digital Solutions division (the Xeikon brand), Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms offering a unique mix of equipment, consumables and services.
Key Personnel: Pierre-Marie De Leener, chairman; Steve Dryden, CEO Flint Group; Ron Muawad, Group CFO; Jeremy Berenzweig, general counsel and chief administration officer; Doug Aldred, CCO Flint Group Packaging and president Global Flexible Packaging; Emmanuel Bareaud, president Narrow Web; Benoit Chatelard, president Digital Solutions; Michael Fien, CFO Flint Group Packaging and VP & GM Resins & Chips; Tony Lord, president Commercial, Publication & Web (CPW) and Offset Packaging; Kim Melander, president Paper & Board Europe; Darren Miller, human resources director; Michael Mosley, president Paper & Board North America; Adhemur Pilar, president Flint Group Latin America.
Number of Employees: Approximately 5,600 worldwide.
Comments: Flint Group is the second-largest ink manufacturer in the world, reporting $1.8 billion in sales during 2021. Flint Group CEO Steve Dryden said that in spite of the challenges from raw materials, the economy and the geopolitical strife, Flint Group remains healthy and continues to grow.
“In 2021, we experienced a very challenging supply chain and purchased increased stock to ensure the security of supply for our customers around the world,” Dryden said. “Throughout the year, we weathered substantial cost increases but were able to pass these costs into the value chain, albeit with the usual delay.”
Sustainability is an important priority for Flint Group, and the company continues to earn honors for its environmental efforts.
“Importantly, late in 2021, Flint Group secured a Silver rating across its global footprint with EcoVadis,” Dryden noted. “The company was considered to be in the top 21% of companies rated by the worlds most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. The company was rated in the top 9% in the Sustainable Procurement category and in the top 7% for Ethics.
“Flint Group Paper & Board confirmed the success of its TerraCode sustainable water-based product and won a Bronze award in the category of Sustainably Produced Packaging at the 2021 UK Flexographic Industry Association (FIAUK) Awards,” he added.
Dryden noted that sustainability is and will remain a business focus across the packaging industry and broader society.
“Sustainability is central to any company’s strategy and value proposition, with industry suppliers and our customers responding, and this topic will continue to gain more and more momentum,” Dryden said. “Consumers, retailers, and brands continue to pressure packaging producers to demonstrate sustainability progress and reduce the environmental footprint of their supply chains.
“Flint Group is focusing on two key themes: The impact of our operations both at the point of manufacture and along our value chain; and how we can develop products and deploy services which help our customers to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment,” Dryden observed.
In another move, Flint Offset Packaging Solutions brought its K+E, Varn and Day brands under one division, providing the global sheetfed offset market with a single point of contact.
Dryden observed that production of packaging materials is essential for society and the majority of printers and converters in all regions of the world did not miss a beat throughout the pandemic.
“Despite many challenges, the printing of packaging for food, water, pharmaceuticals, cleaning supplies and other critical items continued,” Dryden added. “That said, the climate feels more ‘normal’ albeit the ‘normal’ is forever changed. We see a heightened focus from consumers and brand owners toward mitigating risk while ensuring health, hygiene and sustainability.”
Raw material pricing and availability, inflation and logistics have been major challenges for the ink industry for the past few years, and Dryden said that no relief is in sight. However, Flint Group continues to successfully meet the needs of its customers.
“The industry-wide challenges with raw material availability, cost increases and logistical issues have not diminished, nor do we expect to see any relief in 2022 or early 2023,” said Dryden. “Our teams have done an exceptional job to ensure reliable supply to our valued customers but this has come with significantly higher costs. The climate is not likely to change and we must adjust to this new normal via product developments and productivity enhancements. Most important is to ensure that, regardless of inflation and supply chain pressures, we remain a stable, reliable supplier to our valued customers.
“Packaging volumes remain encouraging while the expected decline in publication volumes continues,” Dryden observed. “Raw material and other costs continued to increase throughout the first half of the year. Still, with a reliable supply performance, Flint Group recovered these costs, albeit with the expected delay.”
As for the rest of 2022, Dryden anticipates further growth in packaging while working with their customers and suppliers to deal with the persistent economic and raw material challenges.
“There is no doubt that the challenges experienced during the first half of the year will continue throughout the remainder of 2022,” Dryden said. “We expect difficult trading conditions, continued inflation and tightening of supply chains.
“That said, we also expect growth driven by consumer demand for innovative packaging, increased e-commerce, and resilient food, beverage and pharmaceutical market sectors,” Dryden concluded. “It’s clear we are entering an inflationary environment for the foreseeable future and we are focused on helping our customers reduce cost and complexity while increasing the ease of doing business with Flint Group.”
L-2449 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Phone: +44 (0)161 776 6810
Fax: +44 (0)161 775 5415
www.flintgrp.com
Sales: 2021 global revenues of Flint Group were $1.8 billion.
Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Flint Group also manufactures chips and resins for inks and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyper dispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and digital printing equipment. With its Digital Solutions division (the Xeikon brand), Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms offering a unique mix of equipment, consumables and services.
Key Personnel: Pierre-Marie De Leener, chairman; Steve Dryden, CEO Flint Group; Ron Muawad, Group CFO; Jeremy Berenzweig, general counsel and chief administration officer; Doug Aldred, CCO Flint Group Packaging and president Global Flexible Packaging; Emmanuel Bareaud, president Narrow Web; Benoit Chatelard, president Digital Solutions; Michael Fien, CFO Flint Group Packaging and VP & GM Resins & Chips; Tony Lord, president Commercial, Publication & Web (CPW) and Offset Packaging; Kim Melander, president Paper & Board Europe; Darren Miller, human resources director; Michael Mosley, president Paper & Board North America; Adhemur Pilar, president Flint Group Latin America.
Number of Employees: Approximately 5,600 worldwide.
Comments: Flint Group is the second-largest ink manufacturer in the world, reporting $1.8 billion in sales during 2021. Flint Group CEO Steve Dryden said that in spite of the challenges from raw materials, the economy and the geopolitical strife, Flint Group remains healthy and continues to grow.
“In 2021, we experienced a very challenging supply chain and purchased increased stock to ensure the security of supply for our customers around the world,” Dryden said. “Throughout the year, we weathered substantial cost increases but were able to pass these costs into the value chain, albeit with the usual delay.”
Sustainability is an important priority for Flint Group, and the company continues to earn honors for its environmental efforts.
“Importantly, late in 2021, Flint Group secured a Silver rating across its global footprint with EcoVadis,” Dryden noted. “The company was considered to be in the top 21% of companies rated by the worlds most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. The company was rated in the top 9% in the Sustainable Procurement category and in the top 7% for Ethics.
“Flint Group Paper & Board confirmed the success of its TerraCode sustainable water-based product and won a Bronze award in the category of Sustainably Produced Packaging at the 2021 UK Flexographic Industry Association (FIAUK) Awards,” he added.
Dryden noted that sustainability is and will remain a business focus across the packaging industry and broader society.
“Sustainability is central to any company’s strategy and value proposition, with industry suppliers and our customers responding, and this topic will continue to gain more and more momentum,” Dryden said. “Consumers, retailers, and brands continue to pressure packaging producers to demonstrate sustainability progress and reduce the environmental footprint of their supply chains.
“Flint Group is focusing on two key themes: The impact of our operations both at the point of manufacture and along our value chain; and how we can develop products and deploy services which help our customers to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment,” Dryden observed.
In another move, Flint Offset Packaging Solutions brought its K+E, Varn and Day brands under one division, providing the global sheetfed offset market with a single point of contact.
Dryden observed that production of packaging materials is essential for society and the majority of printers and converters in all regions of the world did not miss a beat throughout the pandemic.
“Despite many challenges, the printing of packaging for food, water, pharmaceuticals, cleaning supplies and other critical items continued,” Dryden added. “That said, the climate feels more ‘normal’ albeit the ‘normal’ is forever changed. We see a heightened focus from consumers and brand owners toward mitigating risk while ensuring health, hygiene and sustainability.”
Raw material pricing and availability, inflation and logistics have been major challenges for the ink industry for the past few years, and Dryden said that no relief is in sight. However, Flint Group continues to successfully meet the needs of its customers.
“The industry-wide challenges with raw material availability, cost increases and logistical issues have not diminished, nor do we expect to see any relief in 2022 or early 2023,” said Dryden. “Our teams have done an exceptional job to ensure reliable supply to our valued customers but this has come with significantly higher costs. The climate is not likely to change and we must adjust to this new normal via product developments and productivity enhancements. Most important is to ensure that, regardless of inflation and supply chain pressures, we remain a stable, reliable supplier to our valued customers.
“Packaging volumes remain encouraging while the expected decline in publication volumes continues,” Dryden observed. “Raw material and other costs continued to increase throughout the first half of the year. Still, with a reliable supply performance, Flint Group recovered these costs, albeit with the expected delay.”
As for the rest of 2022, Dryden anticipates further growth in packaging while working with their customers and suppliers to deal with the persistent economic and raw material challenges.
“There is no doubt that the challenges experienced during the first half of the year will continue throughout the remainder of 2022,” Dryden said. “We expect difficult trading conditions, continued inflation and tightening of supply chains.
“That said, we also expect growth driven by consumer demand for innovative packaging, increased e-commerce, and resilient food, beverage and pharmaceutical market sectors,” Dryden concluded. “It’s clear we are entering an inflationary environment for the foreseeable future and we are focused on helping our customers reduce cost and complexity while increasing the ease of doing business with Flint Group.”
